Apparatus for storing hydrocarbons or other liquids.



' No. 636,076. Patented Oct. 3|, I899.

, J. SMITH. APPARATUS FOR sTUBINfi HYDBDGARBONS UR OTHER LIQUIDS.

(Application Med May 20,1899.) (No Mo el-9 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.-

FLgi].

Tnve 111F1- (No Model.)

Patented Oct, 3|; I899.

J. SMITH.

APPARATUS FOR STORING I'IYDBOCARBON'S OR OTHER LIQUIDS.

(Applicltion fllad m 20, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

pzFnesses @Qfi mazdl'z? 5 m: Nomus PEIiRS 00,. PHOYOLITHOH WASHINGTON,o. c.

@NITED STATES P TENT OFF-Ice.

' 'JOHN SMITH, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR STORING HYDROCARBONS OR OTHER LIQUIDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 636,076, dated October31 ,1899.

Application filed May 20, 1899. Serial No. 717,591. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern): I 7

Be it known that I, JOHN SMITH, engineer, a subject of the Queen ofGreatBritain, residing at Penge, London,England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Storing Hydrocarbons andother Liquids, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa verticaltransverse section, and Fig. 2 a plan, partly in horizontal section,showing one form of myimproved apparatus. Fig. 3 is a verticaltransverse section showing another form or modification of myimprovedapparatus.

Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

My invention is chiefly designed to provide for the storage of volatileliquid hydrocarbons in such a manner as to prevent the formation ofexplosive mixtures of hydrocarbon vapor and air in the storage-tank whenthe volatile liquid has been wholly or partially withdrawn therefrom,and at the same time to permit of the said liquid being drawn off morefree from dirt and other foreign matter than is practicable with theordinary storage-tanks. In the case of the storage of such liquids onboard a ship or on a vehicle my said invention also obviates theliability to violent agitation of the volatile liquid by the movementsof the ship or vehicle when some of the said liquid has been withdrawnfrom the storage-tank.

I construct my improved storage-tank in such a manner that a liquid,such as water, of greater specific gravity than that to be stored willbe admitted to the said tank to replace any of the volatile liquid drawnoff, and thus the said tank will be kept at all times full of liquid,leaving no space available in the tank for the accumulation ofinflammable vapor or gas. The volatile liquid being of less specificgravity will float on the surface of the water.

To this end my said invention consists partlyin the combination,with astorage-tank, of a tube extending upward from the bottom or near thebottom of said tank to a suitable distance above the top thereof, thistube bein g provided with holes or perforations below the top of saidtank and with an outlet in its upper part above the top of said tank fordrawing off the stored liquid and a pipe or tube opening into the lowerend of said tank for the admission and discharge of the liquid ofgreater specific gravity, and my said invention further consists inother improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, wherein my invention is shown applied to astorage-tank on board a ship, a is the tank for storing the volatileliquid, and b the discharge-tube for the said liquid. This tube 19 opensatits lower end into a shallow well or depression 0 in the bottom of thetank a. The said tube extends upward to a, suitable distance above thetop of the said tank and is closed at its upper end by a cap (1, whichmay, if desired, be provided with a glass window for the purposehereinafter explained. Perforations e are formed in the tube 1) for anysuitable distance below the top of the tank a to permit the flow of thevolatile liquid from the said tank into the said tube, and vice versa.At a suitable distance above the top of the tank the said tube isprovided with a cook or valve f for drawing off the volatile liquid asrequired.

In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the well 0 also receives theopen lower end of a second tube g, which serves for the introduction ofwater into and its discharge from the tank a and which extends upthrough the said tank to a suitable height above the top thereof. Thiswater-tube g is connected by means of a pipe h, provided with acontrolling valve or cook 11, with a circulating or other pump, (notshown in the drawings.) so that when the said cock '5 and the draw-0Ecock f are opened the said pump can force water into the tank a in asufficient quantity to replace the volatile liquid being drawn off or todisplace the volatile liquid, so as to permit of the desired quantity ofthe same being drawn oif. The volatile liquid being of less specificgrav ity than the water will rise in the tube 29 to a higher level thanthe water in the tube g, and therefore there will be a reserve of thevolatile liquid above the level of the draw-01f cock f suflicient tocompensate for slight irregularities in the supply of water to the tubeg. The tube 9 is also provided with an overflowpipe j, opening seaward,which is provided with a non-return valve to prevent entrance of thesea-water through it. The tank a is, moreover, provided with a pipe Z,extending to the side of the ship for connection with a hose or othermeans for filling the said tank with the volatile liquid, which pipe isprovided with a cock or valve m. The upper end of this pipe should beabove the highest level of the liquid in the discharge-tube b, in orderto prevent escape of the volatile liquid when the hose is disconnected.In the filling of the tank with the volatile liquid the water displacedflows out through the tube 9 and overflow-pipe j.

In order to indicate the amount of volatile liquid drawn off from thetank a or contained therein at any particular time, a float n isarranged in the tube 1) of such specific gravity that it will sink inthe volatile liquid, but will float on the surface of the water beneaththe same and will rise and fall with the level of the water. This floatis connected by a cord or chain 10 with a registering or indicatingdevice q of suitable known construction which is visible through thewindow in the cap 61 and will register either the quantity of volatileliquid remaining in the tank or the quantity which has been drawntherefrom since it was filled with such liquid.

The part of the discharge-tube b which extends from the top to near thebottom of the tank a and which is perforated at a suitable distancebelow the top of the said tank serves two purposes. It is useful as astrainer to prevent any floating bodies from entering thedischarge-tube, while permitting the volatile liquid to flow freely intothe same, and it is also useful as a guide and protection for the float'12, since it shields the said float from disturbances which occur inthe liquids contained in the tank when volatile liquid is supplied tothe same or when the tank is oscillated or shaken by the motion of aship or vehicle in which it is fixed. Since the float can only move upand down in the tube 1), the quantity of liquid contained in orWithdrawn from the tank will be more accurately registered than wouldotherwise be practicable.

It is evident that as the tank a is always full of liquid no inflammablevapor or gas can accumulate therein and no violent agitation ofthevolatile liquid can at any time take placefor example, by reason ofthe rolling or pitching of a ship-such as would occur in an ordinarystorage-tank after the drawing oil. of some of the volatile liquid, andas the volatile liquid can only be drawn oif from the top of the tank itwill be free from any heavy particles of. dirt or other foreign matter,which will sink to the bottom of the tank, and therefore cannot be drawn0d with the volatile liquid.

In Fig, 3 I have shown another form or arrangement of my improvedapparatus for use in cases where the level of the water outside a ship,barge, or the like is approximately constant and is on about the same ora higher level than that of the draw-off cockf. In this arrangement thelower end of the tank ais in communication with the water outside theship, barge, or the like through a pipe 1', provided with a suitablecook or valve 8 for controlling the tlow of water through the said pipeas desired. In this case I can dispense with the pump 01 the likehereinbefore mentioned for forcing in water to replace the volatileliquid drawn ofi, since the water from the exterior will enter by theaction of gravity and will raise the volatile liquid as a portionthereof is drawn off through the cock f and fill the space previouslyoccupied thereby.

For domestic use and in other cases the water required to replace thevolatile liquid drawn off from the storage-tank can be supplied asneeded from an ordinary cistern or other suitable source.

My improved apparatus is also applicable for the storage of otherliquids, and it is obvious that if such liquids are of greater specificgravity than water a heavier liquid than water must be used fordisplacing them in the storage-tank.

It is evident, moreover, that the construction of my improved apparatuscan be somewhat modified without departing from the nature of my saidinvention.

What I claim isv 1. Astorage-tankforliquids, provided with adischargetube extending from the bottom or near the bottom thereof to apoint above its top and provided with lateral inlet-perforations belowthe top of 'said tank, through which perforations the stored liquidflows from the tank into said discharge-tube and rises therein, aseparate inlet-pipe for the liquid to be stored, and a tube or pipe opening into the lower end of said tank for the admission and discharge of aliquid of greater specific gravity than the liquid to be stored, for thePur oses above specified.

2. The combination, with a closed tank for storing liquid, of adischarge-tube extending upward from the bottom or near the bottom ofsaid tank to a point above the top thereof and provided with'lateralinlet-perforations below the top of said tank, through whichperforations the stored liquid flows from the tank into saiddischarge-tube and rises therein, a

separate inlet-pipe for the liquid to be stored, another tube or pipeopening into the lower end of said tank, and a lateral outlet for thestored liquid located near the lower end of that part of saiddischarge-tube above the tank, whereby a reserve of the stored liquid ismaintained above said outlet, substantially as, and for the purposes,hereinbefore described.

3. The combination, with a closed tank for storing liquid, of adischarge-tube extending from the bottom or near the bottom thereofthrough the top and above the same and pro= vided with lateralinlet-perforations below the top of said tank, through whichperforations the stored liquid flows from the tank into saiddischarge-tube and rises therein, a draw-0d IIO storing liquid, of adischarge-tube extending upward from the bottom or near the bottom ofsaid tank to a point above the top thereof and provided with lateralperforations below the top of said tank, through which perforations thestored liquid flows from the tank into said tube and rises therein, aseparate inlet-pipe for the liquid to be stored, an outlet for thestored liquid in said dischargetube above the top of the tank but belowthe top of said tube, and another tube or pipe opening into the lowerend of said tank, substantially as, and for the purposes, hereinbeforedescribed.

5. Thecombination, with a closed tank for storing liquid, of adischarge-tube extending upward from the bottom of said tank to a pointabove the top thereof and provided with lateral inlet-perforations belowthe top of said tank, through which perforations the stored liquid flowsfrom the tank into said dischargetube and rises therein, a second tubeextending upward from the bottom or near the bottom of said tank to apoint above the top thereof, and open at its upper end, a separateinlet-pipe for the liquid to be stored, a

lateral outlet for the stored liquid in said discharge-tube above thetop of the tank but below the top of said tube, and a supply-pipe for aliquid of greater specific gravity connected with said second tube,substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a closed tank for storing liquid, of adischarge-tube extending upward from the bottom -or near the bottom ofsaid tank to a point above the top thereof and provided with lateralinlet-perforations below the top of said tank, through whichperforations the stored liquid flows from the tank into saiddischarge-tube and rises therein, an outlet for the stored liquid insaid tube, above the top of the tank but below the top of said tube, asecond tube extending upward from the bottom or near the bottom of saidtank to a point above the top thereof, and open at its upper end, asupply-pipe for a liquid of greater specific gravity connected with saidsecond tube, and an overflow-pipe also connected with said second tubeand controlled by a. non-return valve, substantially as, and for thepurposes, hereinbefore described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing Wit nesses.

JOHN SMITH.

Witnesses:

DAVID YOUNG, ALEXANDER W. ALLEN.

